In a quiet corner of Busan, Korea where the city seduces with the aroma of street-food, the air holds a different rhythm. Here, wooden tables stand under soft paper lanterns, and steam curls gently from warm bowls of tofu soup. The fragrance is subtle—earthy, slightly sweet, and calming. This is barugongyang, the Zen Buddhist temple meal at Beomeosa, where every bite is meditation of centuries-old ritual. For many Indian visitors, the familiarity is surprising, almost uncanny.
Like the kitchens of India, Korean temple cuisine carries a legacy that stretches back generations. Seasonal vegetables, fragrant wild herbs, fermented pastes, and recipes handed down through monks’ careful stewardship form the backbone of the meal.
With the rise of global wellness culture, Beomeosa’s simple wooden trays are drawing curious visitors from across Asia. Yoga practitioners, mindful eaters, and health-conscious travellers find echoes of their own sacred food traditions here. “Indian guests who come to Beomeosa temple stay are often surprised,” says Temple stay Associate Lee Jin Ho. “There’s an unexpected sense of familiarity. It’s not the same food, but it shares the same values of simplicity, compassion, and mindfulness.”
The experience is as much about silence as sustenance. Guests sit at identical trays at 5 pm sharp, the quiet punctuated only by the soft rustle of hands arranging bowls. No phones. No chatter. Just the communal stillness that mirrors the halls of Ranakpur Jain Temple, where devotees dine in reverent quiet.
Temple cuisine is venturing beyond monastery walls. In Seoul, Balwoo Gongyang has earned a Michelin star, its slow-prepared dishes offering nourishment rather than spectacle. Chef Kim Ji Young says, “Temple food isn’t designed to thrill the taste buds. It’s meant to awaken the body and mind.”
Dishes are quietly complex: fermented soybean pastes, pickled roots, seasonal wild greens, and multigrain rice. Even desserts whisper rather than shout—a few dried fruits, a cup of honey-infused tea. Ingredients are local, organic, and pure, free of dairy, eggs, alcohol, fructose, additives, or preservatives. The five pungent vegetables—garlic, onion, green onion, leek, and wild chive—are absent, honoring non-violence, discipline, and inner calm.
Whether it's Pongal served on a banana leaf in Tamil Nadu, or lotus root stew in a Korean temple, sacred kitchens across Asia speak the same language: food as prayer, food as medicine, food as devotion.